Almost a year ago Ashely and I met at the beach where her kids managed to keep their pants on, and of course Kellen ran around in his birthday suit. She didn’t seem to be fazed too much, so I decided she was automatically in my inner circle of trust. More than that, Ashley of the stork and the beanstalk keeps it real, all the time. This sweet little boy has his birth story up on her blog, birth stories being some of my favorite stories of all. I love the way her mind works, and she isn’t afraid to let everyone know the inner thinkings of a clever mom. So don’t be intimidated by her style and beauty, and head over to her blog where her words are just as fun as her photos. But most of all, I just wanted to congratulate her on welcoming her third boy into the world.

It is tempting to say that you wish you could live the life of a kid again.

No work, obligations, worries, or drama and that sounds like a great day to me. But as I raise a toddler and really analyze his life, I am beginning to think that he works harder than me! As for work, if it is true what the research implies, that play is work to children, I do not know one adult that “works” as hard as my kid. This kid needs two baths a day, on a slow one. Obligations? Well to him, eating becomes an obligation. As hard as we fight about going to the doctor or dentist, this kid fights each and every meal. Worries you say? We we may worry about things that seem huge to us, like leadership for our country, paying off mortgages, or the threat of our kids safety, but this kid worries about his life in a dark room much the same way we worry. Drama, well, we all know how much drama can come with an unreasonable person, multiply that by ten and you remember what raising a toddler is like.

So in all honesty, I think being an adult is much easier, and less stressful and a lot less work then going through as a toddler. I think I will be a bit more gentle with him today.

This family and I have been working together for almost seven years. That is amazing luck, because they are the kindest, most amazing family that shares the same kind of values I do. Time spent with them is joyful and fun. But sadly we are running out of creative locations to shoot their family. So this years session, we thought we would do it under the water of their very own swimming pool.

They deliver what I boldly state as THE most creative christmas card in all of Orange county. I challenge you to find one more crazy and creative then the one we create together. One year they created the board game of LIFE out of their whole year, and I contributed a small piece of the puzzle by way of cover photo of the family. This year the idea will be amazing, she has already run it by me, and we are excited to work on it together. But for now, I want to share these fun photos of a pool play session that we created together. My favorite picture of the day was the selfie they took when I handed my camera over to them!

OC Family magazine work has been a huge source of joy for me over the past few years. Meeting local writers, inspirational moms, and families not only expands my orange county world, it blows my mind with happy and joyful people I would never have had the privilege to meet. One of these local celebrities in my eyes is Becky Brumfield who writes her own version of motherhood on a dare-you-to-not-laugh-out-loud blog at Hippo Brigade, and her husband Pat who designs for Normalcy. To see the cover shot, and how it turned out, see OC Family’s online version.

When I was in High School I used to drive by a local street that I loved. There was a tiny white house on Italia. It was probably built in the early 1920′s, and most likely in the square footage of under 1000sf! I loved that sweet little house. I imagined fixing it up with a little TLC, raising my kids there, and riding our bikes to the downtown area for coffee. The idea of owning a house was such a dream of mine, that I saved up and bought my first house when I was 23 years old. It was everything. I still remember the smell, the details of the windows, and the way my husband and I settled into our adult lives together. It was so little, but it was my first home, and it was as if I bought a castle on the beach, because it was everything to me.

Combine my love of families, and my love of homes, and you get a job shooting families for a home builder! East Haven is coastal neighborhood of 14 homes in Eastside Costa Mesa. Single-family homes, 3 bedroom plus loft, 4 bedroom or 5 bedroom, Approx. 2,247 sq.ft What a treat! We captured first steps, toddlers, and babies-to-be, as well as couples with the cutest dog kids ever! Here are a few of my favorites.

All it took was this one session for me to be in love with 9month old portrait sessions! They are my FAVORITE!!! (du jour) All that chubbiness, eating of feet, smiling, oh my, i die! This sweet little girl might have been a bit more mobile than I had planned, and little more work for mom and me, but amazing fun, and such a joy to watch. If it isn’t a bit challenging, what is the fun in that?

So I am looking forward to my own 5 month old and his 9 month session. All the outfits, and feet chewing, it’s gonna be great!

If there has been anything that has gotten me through the past five years it has been my newborn sessions. There is a smell, a squishy-ness, a sweet newborn goodness that has been able to push me through some tough times trying to get pregnant. This isn’t a journey I have shared with too many, not that I kept it a secret, I just hated talking about it. Mostly because it was a conversation ending in tears or sadness, but also because I worried the ones I shared it with were uncomfortable talking about it.

During that waiting time, I have been so blessed to have the job I have. Snuggling with newborn babies was such a great joy that I cannot thank those families enough for sharing with me their precious loves.

So we are thrilled to let everyone (who reads this blog) know that we are expecting our own newborn this fall. If we are lucky to have a baby as cute and sweet as this social butterfly, we will be thrilled. Thank you Salma for sharing your sweet girl with me while we wait.

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Christi Kirzner

Mar 11, 2012

Love these pics!!! Just amazing eyes and a beautiful baby

michelle nicoloff

Mar 11, 2012

Oh man, this made me cry!!!!! I love you so much my friend & I am so very happy for you! Your family deserves this blessing and I cannot wait to hold your bundle of joy…he/she will call me Auntie Shelly:)

Nothing can top the sweet smell and gentle goodness of a newborn. These huge sweet eyes did their best to stay awake and play, but eventually fell asleep. The sleepiness of a full tummy, and cozy swaddle overcame the excitement of a strange lady visiting…. and we were lucky enough to get those precious sleepy photos too. I loved the way this baby seemed to take in everything going on around him with such calmness. And those big gorgeous eyes!!! Nothing tops that precious session of a newborn. Lucky me.

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Julie

Dec 13, 2011

Beautiful Noel! Every time I see your newborn shots it makes me want to get going on more babies.

Doing my best here to keep up on recent families, but just as I blog one family, I realize even more how far behind I really am in blogging. I will catch up sometime in February at this rate. Here is a recent love of mine. I bond rather quickly with energetic and playful children. We have fun together. Here is just another two of my favorite kids of all time. So playful, so energetic, so difficult to get to sit still. But that is what a bosh image is all about, the playful and fun loving spirit of being an active child.